Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller dives after one of his two fumbles in Saturday's 40-30 victory at Northwestern. / Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

OSU By The Numbers

• 2: Sacks in Saturday’s win by freshman end Joey Bosa, who also recovered a fumble in the end zone on the final play for a TD. • 3: TDs scored by Bradley Roby in his career on a blocked or recovered punt. He did both on the same play Saturday. • 5: Wins in as many games against ranked foes under Urban Meyer. • 10: Career-high tackle total for linebacker Curtis Grant vs. Northwestern. • 11: Tackles for safety C.J. Barnett in Saturday’s win, one off his career high. • 18: Consecutive wins by the Buckeyes, longest streak in the nation. • 20: Wins in as many games since 2005, when an Urban Meyer team blocks a punt, including four with Buckeyes. • 26: Games won by Urban Meyer teams in 36 meetings with ranked opponents. • 26: Carries by Carlos Hyde on Saturday, two shy of his career high. • 29: Wins in the last 30 meetings with Northwestern. • 68: Yards rushing by Braxton Miller on Saturday, moving him into fifth place on the Big Ten’s all-time rushing list among QBs with 2,219 yards. • 168: Career-high rushing yardage for Carlos Hyde in Saturday’s win.

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After watching prodigal running back Carlos Hyde do most of the heavy lifting, Ohio State coach Urban Meyer did some heavy lobbying for his unbeaten Buckeyes.

On a Saturday night when OSU left points on the field and style points apparently back in Columbus, it sure seemed like Meyer was arguing for why his team deserves to be in the BCS title chase despite a perceived lack of impressive wins.

Knowing no one is going to lump a win over Northwestern with beating the Alabamas, Oregons, Stanfords or even Michigans of the college football world, Meyer went on the offensive after the Buckeyes rallied twice in the fourth quarter for a 40-30 victory over the Wildcats.

He pointed out that Northwestern beat an SEC team (Mississippi State) last season in the Gator Bowl and insisted the ’Cats two-headed quarterback attack would give any defense fits.

Meyer said things like “that’s real football” and “the team we were playing was really good” and “they have great players, borderline great players at some positions.”

Hey, Urban, you don’t have to convince me. Like you said, “winning against a top 20 team, on the road, in a tough environment” was reason to feel proud.

Granted, Meyer’s case could have had more oomph if his franchise player had looked better on national TV.

Despite exhibiting great patience in distributing the ball on OSU’s game-winning drive, whatever slim chance quarterback Braxton Miller had of getting back in the Heisman Trophy race probably expired with his three-turnover performance.

But there’s no reason to downgrade Ohio State’s victory. Northwestern was ranked 15th and 16th in the two major polls. Stanford won’t be docked any points because it only won by three points in a top 15 showdown with Pac-12 rival Washington. Georgia plays in the do-no-wrong SEC, so no one thinks any less of the top 10 Bulldogs for needing overtime to avoid a second loss against unranked Tennessee.

Ohio State just got past major hurdle No. 1. Its problem is that the only ranked team left on the regular season schedule is Michigan. And given the way they played against Akron and UConn, there’s no guarantee the Wolverines will survive a rough November before getting to the Buckeyes.

Let’s face it: the Buckeyes keep winning on the field — that’s a nation’s-best 18 in a row now — but keep losing in the court of public opinion.

A couple of times Saturday, Meyer said this in defense of his team: “It was a street fight. Anytime you go 12 rounds, it makes you tougher.”

ESPN played that soundbite on SportsCenter and then, sticking with the pugilistic theme, segued to highlights of Oregon’s 57-16 romp over Colorado, comparing it to a Mike Tyson knockout.

You see what’s going on here? Ohio State may have had the better bout, but a streetfight doesn’t pass the look test like pounding your tomato can of an opponent through the ropes.

Perception is reality. The Buckeyes are losing that battle no matter how many wins they string together.

ESPN analyst and former OSU quarterback Kirk Herbstreit was absolutely right when he said Saturday night that Buckeye fans need to ignore their DNA and root hard for Michigan to win every game up to Nov. 30. And not only win, but look great doing it.

C’mon, Brady Hoke, do your part for “Ohio.”

And, c’mon, Braxton, get your act together. Spare your coach horrendous decisions like that fake punt from the OSU 32, trailing 17-13. Luckily, it only cost the Buckeyes three points. If the ’Cats score seven there, suddenly they’re up 27-13 after they kick a field goal to start the second half and the Buckeyes need two touchdowns to climb out of their hole.

We probably wouldn’t be talking BCS title berths today.

If Meyer was looking for a spark, he would have been better off taking the ball out of punter Cameron Johnston’s hands and giving it to cult hero Kenny Guiton.

Meyer admitted he came “real close” to yanking Miller after his third turnover and second fumble in the third quarter.

So why didn’t he?

“I just didn’t think it was the appropriate thing to do,” he said. “I trusted No. 5 to pull it out.”

But can he trust the human polls making up two-thirds of the BCS formula to do the right thing? Will they give OSU “body of work” votes if the Buckeyes’ winning streak reaches 25 in the Big Ten Championship Game?

Don’t ask Meyer. He doesn’t want to jinx those chances by talking about running the table.

“You’re the guy,” he said to a reporter who brought up 13-0 Saturday night, “who sits next to the guy throwing the no-hitter and says, ‘Hey, you’ve got a no-hitter going.’”